Krug Opens Larrabee Studios to the Public for a Champagne Tasting That Produces Live Music

Krug Champagne is opening a part of Los Angeles’ Larrabee Studios to the public for three nights later this month, turning the recording space into a ticketed food, wine and music event built around live composition and Champagne tasting.

The event, called “The Art of Blending Krug & Sound at Larrabee Studios,” is scheduled for Sept. 28 through Sept. 30 inside Studio 6 at Larrabee. According to Krug and Larrabee Studios, guests will take part in a guided tasting and describe the tastes, memories and emotions they associate with each Champagne. Those responses will then be used by producer Manny Marroquin and other studio producers to create an original piece of music live during the session.

The program marks a rare public opening for a studio better known as a professional recording space. Krug said the project is meant to draw a link between Champagne blending and music production, with both relying on separate elements being assembled into a finished work. The companies said they want to turn that idea into an experience that guests can actively shape rather than simply observe.

Reservations are on sale through Tock at $474 per person. The companies said seating is limited.

Marroquin, who owns Larrabee Studios, is hosting the sessions. Krug identified him as a 14-time Grammy Award-winning producer. The events will center on what the Champagne house calls “Les Créations de 2013,” featuring Krug 2013 and Krug Grande Cuvée 169ème Édition. A multi-course dinner from Chef Oscar Torres of VERSE will also be part of the evening, paired with Krug Grande Cuvée 173ème Édition and Krug Rosé 29ème Édition.

The format blends several high-end Los Angeles hospitality and entertainment brands into one offering. Guests will move through a tasting and dining experience while also participating in the creation of a music track in one of the studio’s rooms. Krug described the sessions as immersive and said the creative process will unfold in real time during each night’s event.

The companies have positioned the experience as open to the general public rather than restricted to industry guests or private clients, though the price point places it in the luxury category. At $474 a seat, it is being marketed as a special event rather than a standard restaurant service or conventional winery tasting.

Krug and its partners are also extending the collaboration beyond the three studio nights. Throughout the month, neighboring venues VERSE and Mensano will offer a separate pairing built around Krug Grande Cuvée 173ème Édition and a dish of dry aged kingfish with blue corn, shiso leaf, avocado and finger lime. That pairing is priced at $75.

The expansion into VERSE and Mensano gives the campaign a broader footprint around the Larrabee area while keeping the main attraction inside the studio. The three-night Studio 6 program remains the center of the launch because it combines the tasting, the live composition and the dinner in a single reservation.

For Krug, the Los Angeles event fits with a strategy of connecting Champagne to cultural settings beyond traditional wine service. The house has previously framed its wines through themes of sensory interpretation and creative collaboration. In this case, the company is leaning into sound and memory, asking guests to describe what they taste in emotional or musical terms before those reactions are translated into a recorded piece.

For Larrabee Studios, the project briefly shifts a private production environment into a public-facing venue. That change is part of the appeal being used to sell the event. Access to a working recording studio, especially in a session built around live producer input, is being presented as a central draw alongside the food and Champagne.

The involvement of VERSE also gives the event a restaurant component that reaches beyond tasting pours. Chef Oscar Torres’ menu is being described as bespoke and multi-course, suggesting a format closer to a private chef collaboration than a simple pairing flight. Krug has not publicly detailed the full menu in the materials announcing the launch, but it said the pairings are designed to complement the featured cuvées.

The event arrives at a time when luxury brands are increasingly building short-run experiences that mix hospitality, performance and social media appeal. Pop-up dinners, one-night collaborations and immersive tastings have become common across Los Angeles, but the use of an active recording studio as the setting helps distinguish this launch from more typical wine events.

Krug said the sessions are now bookable through Tock. The event materials do not indicate that additional dates will be added beyond Sept. 28, 29 and 30. Interviews with Marroquin and representatives of Krug were offered in connection with the launch announcement.